Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,818 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 2,412.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 33,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 31,964 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $25,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $310,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Finally, Dover Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $324,000. 78.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AUB. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frank Russell Ellett purchased 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.49 per share, with a total value of $45,377.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 78,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,457,700.03. This trade represents a 1.88% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Asbury bought 7,500 shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.91 per share, for a total transaction of $246,825.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 270,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,903,208.12. The trade was a 2.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 18,941 shares of company stock valued at $606,502. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Price Performance

AUB stock opened at $33.57 on Friday. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 1 year low of $22.85 and a 1 year high of $44.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.87.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.15. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.The company had revenue of $377.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $369.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 92.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.02%.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Company Profile

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services.